User blog:Chaos Githzerai/Kreate-a-Kombatant Entry: Hawk
Biography Hailing from Rio de Janeiro, Riana Salazar is the daughter of a renowned capoeira mestre and has been a staunch practitioner of the art since she was a young girl, having trained extensively in both the Angola and Regional styles in hopes of following in her father's footsteps. A year ago, Hawk's parents were both murdered under mysterious circumstances, and ever since, Hawk has been searching for their killer. Her master level skill garnered the attention of Raiden, who recruited her, through Nightwolf, to fight for Earthrealm in the Mortal Kombat tournament. Hawk readily agreed, hoping that there she would finally find her parents' killer. During the tournament, she fought and defeated Sektor, who attempted to ambush and kill her later that night. Cyrax heard the commotion and came to Hawk's aid, but slipped away before she had a chance to thank him, and for the remainder of the tournament, Hawk remained on her guard, her paranoia interfering with her concentration and causing her to lose her match against Jade. The woman refused to slay Hawk before turning and leaving without a word, leaving the capoeirista confused. During the celebration of Liu Kang's victory over Shang Tsung, Hawk met up with Cyrax a second time and demanded to know why he constantly kept avoiding her whenever she'd try to talk to him during the course of the tournament. The only reply she could get out of the Lin Kuei warrior before he slipped away was "Because, you'd just end up hating me if you knew my reason." She began to go after him to try and find out what he meant, only to lose sight of him when the Tarkatans attacked. Afterward, when Sonya was reported missing, Hawk volunteered to travel to Outworld in order to help her friends search for the missing Special Forces agent. Upon arriving in Outworld, Hawk left to search for Sonya on her own and she found herself in the Living Forest, where she found a Lin Kuei warrior who called himself Smoke. Together, they confronted Shang Tsung, who morphed into the Elder Sub-Zero, and Reptile, defeating them. Not soon after, they were ambushed by Sektor and his cyborgs, and Hawk ended up incapacitated by the now automated Lin Kuei warrior, though not before learning that Cyrax had been automated as well. She soon awoke to find that Smoke had been saved from the same fate by Raiden, who had intervened. Later on, Hawk was taken aback when Smoke mistook Mileena, who had just been defeated by Jade, for Kitana, and despite Hawk's attempts to convince him to back down, she prompted Smoke into fighting her due to his upset at her verbally defending Jade, but bested him. The two later reconciled over the misunderstanding, resulting with Smoke giving her half of his medallion as a sign of how strong their friendship had become, and it was then that Hawk realized that she'd developed feelings for the Lin Kuei warrior. During Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm, Hawk witnessed the reprogramming of Cyber Sub-Zero, which gave her hope for Cyrax if he were to ever be encountered again. While Liu Kang and Raiden were away asking the Elder Gods for help, Hawk volunteered to go out on her own on a reconnaissance mission to tally the total number of Kahn's forces attacking the city. While getting ready to leave, she was approached by Smoke, who wished for her to be careful, and Hawk took her chance to silently voice her feelings to him, pulling his mask down and kissing him before she took her leave. While out scouting, she received a telepathic message from Raiden; who informed her of everything that had transpired during her absense -- including the deaths of Smoke, Cyber Sub-Zero, and Jade and that their souls had been enslaved by Quan Chi in the Netherrealm. Currently, Hawk's been helping in the rebuilding of the city, but there are times where she thinks of Smoke and what they could've been had she not acted on her feelings too little too late, and she hopes to find a way to free him and the rest of her friends and allies from Quan Chi. Appearance/Personality Hawk is of average height with a slim build, dark brown eyes, tan skin, and auburn hair which falls to her shoulder blades. Her hair is styled in a myriad of small braids which are all pulled back and bound in a ponytail, though one braid falls over her right eye. For dress, she wears a pair of white pants which flare a bit in the legs, and are the standard issue pants usually worn by a capoeirista. The right pant leg is decorated by an image of a tribal design hawk, which is black in color and tied around the waist is Hawk's cordão (cord belt), which is solid white in color, an indication of her master rank. She also wears a halterneck sleeveless shirt that's solid white in color and no shoes. Around her neck, suspended from a thin chain is half of a Lin Kuei medallion and if asked where she obtained it, she goes quiet and refuses to answer. The 2P version of her outfit is black with the hawk image being dark red. Alternate outfit: Hawk wears a pair of denim cut-off shorts with a black leather belt and a backless halterneck top that's lilac in color. Her cordão is tied around her belt at the left hip, and she still wears the half of a Lin Kuei medallion around her neck. In this outfit, it is revealed that Hawk has a tattoo of an ivy vine around her left ankle, and again, she is barefoot with her braided hair unbound rather than pulled back into a ponytail.. The 2P version of her outfit has dark blue denim shorts and a royal purple top. Item for unlocking: Hawk's cord belt. Personality wise, Hawk is generally a pleasant and amiable woman, but harbors resentment towards those who look down upon capoeira as not being a true martial art (practitioners of other martial arts especially) and towards those who've hurt her when she knows she's done no wrong to them. If wronged by somebody, Hawk will be guarded and distant towards the person who hurt her, but she's willing to let bygones be bygones and will forgive those who prove to her that they didn't mean to wrong her. If hurt a second time by the same person, Hawk's resentment will change to outright dislike unless persuaded to give them a third and final chance. She's known to be a snarker at times, usually whenever someone makes a comment she can't help but shoot down with a retort, but this is usually done in fun and rarely out of malice. Despite her usually pleasant attitude, Hawk has a temper that's moderately easy to set off, and though she's usually able to keep it under control and channels it through verbal retorts and some choice language (usually in Portuguese), there are instances where she's resorted to physical combat. Afterwards, if it were against someone she cares for, she always apologizes and does all she can to make it up to them; on the contrary, if it were against someone she hates, she could really care less. Combat characteristics Though she possesses no supernatural abilities, Hawk is quite agile and has a wide range of flexibility, relying upon the movements of her unique fighting style to help her dodge most projectiles and to confuse opponents since a constantly moving target is harder to hit than one that's standing still, after all. Though they may look like nothing more than a dance, Hawk's attacks are quick and painful, showing that looks truly can be deceiving. (Though most of her kicks and hand strikes link together, Hawk is not designed for use by people who do nothing but mash buttons. Rather, she's designed to be a challenging character for a player to master and can become rather devastating at the hands of an expert.) Special Moves Little Tornado: '''Hawk bends her upper body forward, both hands upon the ground before she kicks herself up into a handstand, balancing her weight over one hand before she begins to spin upon the heel of her hand. This move gives Hawk immunity to projectiles, which pass harmlessly through her while she spins. *The enhanced version is called '''Little Hurricane, which will reflect a projectile back at her opponent. Both versions can be charged, and from either version, she can either drop down into Negativa or flip back onto her feet and return to her ginga. Negativa: '''A dodge used to avoid mid level projectiles as well as high-mid level attacks rather than as an attack, Hawk squats down with one leg extended in front of her while the other is kept bent in close to her. One hand is braced against the floor for support, while her free hand is kept close to her face. Two of Hawk's attacks can be performed from this position. '''Negativa is treated as a stance and has no enhanced variation. Rising Talons: '''This kick can only be performed while Hawk is in her '''Negativa. She hops up from her bent supporting leg while pushing up with her hips and swinging her straightened leg up and forward across her body with her supporting hand remaining on the ground in order for her to center her weight over it as she flips, delivering two kicks in rapid succession before landing and shifting her weight to her other hand. *The enhanced version is called Iron Talons, in which Hawk performs a side kick immediately after her Rising Talons attack. Tesoura: Hawk catches her opponent round the torso in a scissor takedown. If in sweep distance, Hawk slides in towards her opponent before performing the takedown. *The enhanced version is called Tesoura Lock, and where instead of releasing her opponent before rising back to her feet, Hawk maintains her hold before she punches her opponent five times in the head after which she performs a handspring away from them. Either version of this attack can be performed from Negativa or from her ginga. Take Flight: Hawk's signiature attack, it is a flying kick that moves through the air at head height in a 'screw-like' fashion, allowing her to strike either airborne or standing opponents. She launches herself into the air, leading off with her striking leg before following through with her other leg at the height of her movement and landing on both feet as the turn completes. *The enhanced version is called Cascade Dance where Hawk performs this flying kick twice, delivering a strong front kick upon landing after the second flying kick. Either version can be strung together with her Twin Armada move or alone in order to allow her to quickly close in on a far-off opponent. Twin Armada: Hawk performs two lightning fast 360° turning kicks, the strikes delivered with the outside edge of her kicking foot, causing her opponent to stumble backwards. *The enhanced version is called Heavy Armada, where Hawk performs the same kick a third time, except with both legs kept together. This version is stronger and knocks an opponent down instead of causing them to stumble back. Free Fall: This is Hawk's strongest attack. She keeps her striking leg back in preperation for the attack as she twists her upper body to one side while jumping upward. During the jump, she brings her striking leg, kept straight, over herself while bending her other leg. She catches herself upon her arm that's opposite of her striking leg (right arm for the left leg, left arm for the right leg) as her striking leg whips up over the top of the spin. She catches herself upon her bent leg as she whips the kick down hard onto her opponent, knocking them onto their stomach if it connects. *The enhanced version is called Whip Lash, where after Hawk performs her Free Fall move, she delivers two quick sweeps to her fallen opponent. Note: If Hawk misses with either version of this kick, she ends up injuring herself for a fraction of the damage. Even mestres make mistakes. Inverted Kicks: Hawk flips into a handstand and kicks her opponent twice before either flipping back to her feet or falling into Negativa. *The enhanced version is called Flipside, and is Hawk's answer to Sonya's signiture Leg Grab. Hawk kicks her opponent four times before catching them by the neck with her legs, raising up and performing a Frankensteiner. X-Ray Move - Silent Rhythm: Hawk initiates her X-Ray as a counter rather than an attack. If she counters successfully, she claps both hands hard over the base of her opponent's ears, rupturing their eardrums before she backhands her opponent across the side of the head with an open-handed strike, fracturing their skull. She then performs a backwards flipkick, the force of the blow breaking her opponent's lower jaw. Grapples Front grapple: Hawk grabs her opponent's shoulders and swings upward into a handstand before falling back down and kicking her opponent in the gut. From this position, she releases her opponent and pushes off, sending her opponent flying while she performs an aerial backflip. Back grapple: Hawk hops up to stand upon her opponent's shoulders, grasping their neck between her ankles before she falls forward into a handstand and uses her legs to toss her opponent over her. Air throw: She performs an aerial Frankensteiner which slams her opponent into the ground before she releases them. Fatalities Morte Armada: Hawk glares at her opponent while shaking her head before she performs a jumping armada kick, the force of the blow enough to snap her opponent's neck. As she lands, she kicks the falling body away from her. The Avian Spirit: Hawk transforms into a terror bird, causing her defeated opponent to cower in fear. She screeches before lunging forward and kicking her opponent in the gut, knocking them onto their back, and keeps them pinned down with her foot. She then strikes with her beak, killing her opponent in one blow before she tears the head from the body and devours it. (My reason for changing this from an Animality is because it just didn't feel right to me and I was tired of her having only one Fatality after repeatedly failing to come up with another. I see it as pretty much somewhat of a counterpart to Liu Kang's 'The Beast Within' and if you guys don't think it works, please let me know and I'll change it back, but my character finally feels complete to me now.) Other Finishers Babality: Hawk tries to catch a bird which flies off when she trips and falls onto her stomach, and she begins to cry. Ending After the defeat of Shao Kahn, Hawk failed to learn the identity of her parents' killer. She returned home to Rio de Janeiro, hoping to return to a normal life; however, Hawk knows that if Raiden were to ever contact her again, she would not be able to turn down his request to protect Earthrealm. There are times where Hawk thinks of the friends and allies she had gained and lost throughout the tournament, and hopes that someday she will see them again. Stages City Beach at Sunset: '''A rather serene-looking beach yet spoiled by Shao Kahn's invading forces, though once and a while, a dragon will fly overhead through the sky above. Similar to the wastelands shoreline stage in Outworld, since the kombatants also fight along the surf while small waves roll in occasionally, though here, they fight in ankle deep water rather than on the shoreline. On this stage, the ocean is shown in the background instead of the beach itself with the sun slowly setting in the horizon. '''City Beach at Night: The same place as the version at sunset. The full moon is in the sky in the background, sometimes partially obscured by the slow moving clouds, and moonlight illuminates the water, the intensity depending on how much the moon is covered by the clouds. As with the version at sunset, a dragon will fly overhead once and a while. Stage Fatality: The loser is knocked out into the ocean where they're quickly devoured by a large great white shark, leaving nothing but a bloody mess on the water's surface. If the losing kombatant is wearing a hat, it's left floating upon the bloody surface of the water momentarily before sinking. (Fatality applies to both the sunset and night versions of the stage.) BGM (Sunset version:) 'We Believe Ep 4' - F-777 BGM (Night version:) ''''We Believe Ep 3' - F-777 '''Nightclub Rooftop: Battles take place upon the roof of a tall nightclub within the city where music blairs loudly from the building's interior. The night sky is clear, the full moon hanging suspended in the sky along with a few stars not blotted out by the city's lights. Fighting between the militia and Kahn's invading forces can be heard in the background, though muffled by the volume of the nightclub's music. Stage Fatality: '''The loser is knocked off the edge of the roof. The camera switches angles to follow the loser as they fall, ending up becoming impaled through the stomach upon one of the ropeposts located in front of the nightclub's entrance. The defeated kombatant feebly struggles to free themselves only to go limp as they die, their blood staining the post and pooling on the ground beneath them. '''BGM: 'Omen III' - Magic Affair (I can explain. *sweatdrops* The idea for the nightclub rooftop custom stage would not leave me alone no matter how hard I tried to ignore it, so, I broke down and added it. Unlike the two city beach stage variations, this stage is intended more as a 'random WTF?! stage' that stands out from the dark and somber theme of most of the game's stages and music hence the concept and choice of background music. I mean, it's not exactly easy to picture characters like Scorpion and Noob Saibot fighting on a stage like this and not thinking it's surreal as hell, right? ;) Intro/Outro Intro: Hawk is seen standing to the side gazing out at the middle distance before she turns toward her opponent and points at them and then falls into her ginga. Outro Normal: Hawk performs a one-handed handstand, spinning twice before she ends up knelt down upon one knee and watching her fallen opponent. Outro After Fatality: Hawk takes a small step to the side as she snaps her arms out to either side of her and bows her head, all done in a quick, fluid motion. Battle Cries Before a fight: "Don't underestimate my style." After X-Ray Move: "Feel it!" Outro pose: "No rhythm, no soul." Winning Poses Between Rounds Pose 1: Hawk performs a back handspring away from her opponent if she's standing too close before falling back into her ginga. Pose 2: Performs a one-handed handstand, laughing softly before falling back into her ginga. Pose 3: Stands and points quickly at her opponent before falling back into her ginga. Between Round Recoveries From laying on her back: Hawk performs a quick windmill as she rises back to her feet. From laying on her stomach: Hawk rises into a handstand before flipping onto her feet. Character Relationships *Harbors feelings for Smoke. *Despises Sektor. *Entered the first Mortal Kombat tournament in hope of finding her parents' killer. *Joined Raiden's forces to protect Earthrealm. *Defeated Sektor. *Nearly assassinated by Sektor but was aided by Cyrax. *Defeated and spared by Jade. *Traveled to Outworld to help in the search for Sonya, but went off on her own to search. *Found Smoke in the Living Forest. *Befriended Smoke and aided him. *Defeated Reptile and Shang Tsung. *Learned of Cyrax's automation before she was incapacitated by Sektor. *Prompted Smoke into attacking her while verbally defending Jade. *Bested Smoke. *Befriended Jade. *Befriended Cyber Sub-Zero. *Volunteered to scout and take note of the size of Shao Kahn's invading forces. *Informed of Smoke, Cyber Sub-Zero and Jade's deaths by Raiden. *Hopes to find a way to free the souls of her fallen allies, Smoke especially. *Currently helping Raiden, Johnny Cage, and Sonya to rebuild Earthrealm. Trivia *In Portuguese, her nickname is Falcão, which means hawk. *Hawk possesses keen eyesight and a photographic memory. *Her late mother's side of the family are Irish, hence Hawk's auburn hair and first name. *She speaks with an accent when using English since it isn't her first language, and whenever she becomes angry/frustrated, frightened or excited, she tends to slip into Portuguese. *Her victory pose after performing her Fatality is a shout out to Leeloo's winning pose from the movie The Fifth Element. *Flipside, the name of the enhanced version of her Inverted Kicks move, comes from the saying "Catch ya on the flipside!" *The species of terror bird Hawk becomes in her 'The Avian Spirit' Fatality is the kelenken guillermoi, one of the largest species of terror bird, believed to have been around 7.5 to 10 feet tall and weighing in around 500 pounds. *Hawk was inspired by Lateef Crowder of ZeroGravity, who's a practitioner of caopeira. *She's the creation of Chaos Githzerai, who's disappointed that there hasn't been a capoeirista in a Mortal Kombat game yet. Category:Blog posts